Welcome to our monthly Low Carb Newsletter!

Our goal each month is to find the latest and greatest Low Carb products, places to eat, information, and inspiration for you. This month we will be sharing some tips, tricks and treats to help you enjoy a happy and healthy Easter.

Everything we talk about in the newsletter we have personally tried, tested and love.

Jo & I have both been passionate about Low Carb Living for the past 10 years, after it dramatically changed our lives, in different ways, from increased energy & clearer minds to weight loss & maintenance.

We understand that Low Carb means something different to everyone.

Some people may be trying to achieve less than 20g carbs per day, and be more focused on Keto, and some others may simply be trying to reduce the amount of sugar and carbs in their diet. We have a zero judgement policy, meaning that we respect that everyone is different, has a different lifestyle and different goals. If you are striving to reduce the carbs in your diet, by however much, we are here to help & support you 🙂

Supermarket Product of the Month

CHOCOLATE

With Easter this month, we thought we’d highlight the LOwER and Low Carb Chocolate options.

Now there is nothing wrong with enjoying your absolute favourite chocolate as a treat (even if it is a higher carb option) However, for those of us who are looking for some low carb options these 2 are the best you can find in your Supermarket.

It’s definitely our favourite when it comes to baking. However, not everyone loves dark chocolate. They do have a 70% and 85% dark chocolate, and a flavoured range, obviously the carbs are higher in these.

Well Naturally, No Sugar range Dark and Milk chocolate is sweetened with Stevia.

Personally, for a low carb milk chocolate substitute, I think they pretty much nailed it.

They come in large bars (90g) which are great to use in baking (grab it when it goes on sale for ½ price at Woolies) or the smaller 45g bar which is great as a treat. I love the milk chocolate coconut bar and the sweet raspberry.

Carbs per serve in this range 2g carbs or less.

Low Carb Living Tip

How to enjoy a happy and healthy Easter.

Save Easter treats for Easter (avoid buying Easter chocolate or buns weeks before the event) You wouldn’t open your Christmas presents before Christmas, would you?

Choose Quality over quantity.

Make some homemade Easter treats.

Balance out the indulgences with low carb meals that are full of veggies and protein.

Aim to be more active on the extra days off

Make the focus on family, friends and down time, instead of the food.

For more great Healthy Easter Tips and recipes check out the FULL blog here

Eating Out… Mexican!

Mad Mex Naked Burrito Bowls.

Now before you say “Don’t Burrito Bowls have rice and beans?” – Yes, if you order it as is. However, by asking for no rice or black beans it becomes the PERFECT Low Carb Mexican takeaway meal. Or, by asking for no rice, but yes to the black beans you get a great LowER Carb meal. (A small portion of black beans adds 8g carbs, not too bad!) 😍

You can also check out their Nutrition Calculator online and build up your meal beforehand so you know how many carbs are in your meal. They also have salads on their menu that you add extra protein too.

Monthly Goals

What are you working towards this month? Once you know what is it is you want to achieve, then you can commit to it and get into action. It’s also great to reflect back on what you loved in the previous month and noting something to look forward to in the future, this will keep you excited along the way.

We want to help our community achieve their goals and feel their best. The template below is to help you get there.

Top Priority this month is:

Little daily action to help me achieve my goal:

What I am looking forward to this month:

What I loved about last month was:

Coffee & Cake with Anna and Jo

Over the past month…

5. What do you look forward to at Easter?

Anna: The long weekend to take time out, reflect, relax and recharge.

Jo: Spending time with my nieces and nephews and Hot Cross Buns with a cuppa for brekkie. Since Anna came up with the Low Carb Hot Cross Bun recipe I feel even better about having them for brekkie on Good Friday and Easter Sunday, toasted with LOTS of butter.

4. What’s been your favourite Low Carb snack?

Anna: My all time faves are Roasted, Salted Macadamias from Coles, and I have been indulging in quite a bit of Low Carb Peppermint Slice too! Both go so well with a nice black coffee.

Jo: I would say this is a LowER carb snack. The Power Crunch range of protein bars. They are wafer bars (similar to KitKat) but bigger and they taste NOTHING like a protein bar, which is why they are great. 1/2 a bar with a cup of tea or black coffee is all I need. Favourite flavours are Peanut Butter Fudge and Peanut Butter cream.

3. What do you do to stay motivated to be active?

Anna: Thinking about and focusing on how great I feel after I exercise really motivates me. When do you ever exercise and regret it?? I love feeling strong, lean & flexible which are all the things that Yoga help with. Nothing beats feeling great – no matter what happens during the day or week, when you feel strong and great within yourself everything else is manageable.

Jo: I came across something that said the only workouts that you regret are the ones you never do. So even if I aim to to one thing active each day I feel good. My goal with my training is to stay strong, mobile and injury free as I age. I want to be able to walk, skip and hop to my letter box and back when I am 102. 🙂

2. What do you love about baking?

Anna: The end result 🙂 I can’t imagine starting my day without Low Carb Peanut Butter toast and my black coffee, I can’t imagine a weekend without Pancakes, and I can’t imagine a Friday night without guilt free Pizza!!

Jo: They are 2 types of baking i do and both give me different feelings. My weekly meal prep baking. This makes me feel good about the week ahead. Then there is the creative/ relaxing baking, this is normally where bake sweet stuff or experiment with new recipes. This type of baking relaxes me, as there is no real reason except to enjoy the process. Most times they turn out well. The Biscotti recipe came from one of these sessions. This is my favourite thing to do on a quiet weekend at home, or chill time between study blocks.

1. What was your biggest win last month?

Anna: Finalising some new and exciting packaging that will be launching in May, Creating the Low Carb Peppermint Slice recipe and also finally merging our 2 brands into PBCo so we can focus all our resources and energy together!

Jo: Nailing 2 assessments, achieving 100/100 for both. Having not studied in a while, it was the best news and boost to keep me motivated.

We want to answer your questions!!

Hit us up with any question you have for us – each month we will choose the top 5 to answer – email your questions to: hello@lovepbco.com

Want to find out a bit more about Anna and Jo?

Author Profile

Joanne Salerno

Jo struggled with obesity as a teenager. She decided that she needed to take control of her health, and embarked on a 3.5-year journey to lose 56kg’s and get healthy, This involved a combination of cutting out a lot of unhealthy foods, reducing carbs and exercising. Educating herself on the value of nutrient-rich foods was a key factor. Throughout this, Jo became passionate about helping as many people feel as good as they can, so they could enjoy life with those that they love. Joanne started with the business in Customer Service, and due to her passion for Low Carb as well as experience as a Weight Loss Coach – quickly progressed and was promoted to Community Manager.